Metallic wall structure



Feb. 22, 1938 F. GRIEBSCH METALLIC WALL STRUCTURE Filed July 12, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 1 V Feb. 22, 1938. F. GRIEBSCH I METALLIC WALL STRUCTURE 2SheetS -Sheet 2 Filed July 12, 1935 //7 venzor:

Patented Feb. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES METALLIC WALL STRUUIURE FranzGriebsch, Dessau, Germany, assignor t0 Therese Junkers, Gauting, nearMunich, Germany Application July 12,

1935, Serial No. 31,069

In Germany July 13, 1934 6 Claims.

My invention relates to metallic wall structures and more especially towalls, floorings, ceilings, roofs etc. constructed of metal. It hasparticular reference to double wall structures in which the metallicsupporting members (stanchions, ceiling beams, roof supports etc.) arearranged between the outer and inner walls, which are formed of sheetmetal plates fixed tothe supporting members.

It is an object of my invention to provide double wall structures of thekind aforesaid, which are devoid of certain drawbacks inherent insimilar structures hitherto devised.

Hitherto double walled structures formed with large air-filled hollowsconfined between sheet metal plates and enclosing the supportingstructure involved a number of drawbacks, whenever the temperatures ofthe air on the outside and on the inside of the wall differsconsiderably. The sheet metal plates forming the outer shell of thedouble wall, which are in contact with air of lower temperature, maycool down to such an extent, that the dew point of the air enclosed inthe double wall is under-stepped, the inner 'surface of the outer metalshell being then covered with moisture. The fact that the thin sheetmetal plates, which possess very little rigidity of their own, must beconnected with the supporting structure in a great many points and thatthe connecting members are as a rule also formed of metal, favors heatconnection in a direction transversely to the wall, which is accompaniedby a vigorous heat flow from the warmer towards the colder shell. Thusthe colder (outer) shell withdraws heat from the supporting structure,which is thus cooled down, whereby here also the deposition of moisturewill occur. On the other hand the supporting structure, being thuscooled down, will withdraw heat from the sheet metal plates forming theinner shell adjoining the warmer air. If the outer shell is cooled downto a low temperature and if the warmer air adjoining the inner shellcontains much moisture, the

inner shellitself may cool down'below the dew point of this warmer airat least in the vicinity of the points where it is connected to thesupporting structure. Therefore, if the temperature of the outer airislow, the inner wall may become moist, at least iri certain places.Obviously such deposition of moisture on the wall or ceiling of a roomis highly undesirable and it is quite especially objectionable in viewof the fact that the parts, on which moisture has been deposited, areparticularly subject to corrosion. Apart therefrom great diflerences oftemperature of the inner and outer metallic shells also bring aboutgreat differences of heat expansion of-the metal, which is accompaniedby a high additional strain on the sheet metal plates, on theirconnections with the supporting structure, on the. members formin thisstructure and on their connection with the foundation, the connectionsbetween the walls and ceilings or roofs etc. These strains may be thecause of disturbing noise, in the walls but they will certainly lead toa gradual loosening and final destruction of the connections.

According to the present invention I avoid these drawbacks by insulatingthe shell exposed to the lower temperature, 1. e. the outer wall of thebuilding, relative to the other parts constituting the wall against heattransmission, and I further provide means for raising the temperature ofall the other parts of the wall including the supporting structure andthe inner shell as far as possible to the same temperature above the dewpoint of the air enclosed in the double wall and the air in thebuilding. I further allow the outer shell a certain mobility relative tothe other structural members of the wall and I thus prevent obnoxiousheat stresses from arising in the individual parts of a wall and in themembers connecting same.

In the drawings affixed to this specification and forming part thereofsome wall structures embodying my invention are illustrateddiagrammatically by way of example.

In the drawings Figs. 1 to 3 are a vertical section on the line L4 inFig. 3, a perspective view and a horizon-' tal section on the lineIlI--IlI in Fig. 1, respectively, of the first modification.

Figures 4 and 5 are a vertical section on the line IV-IV in Fig. 5 and ahorizontal section on the line V--V in Fig. 4, respectively, of a secondmodification.

Figs. 6 and 7 are horizontal sections illustrating two furthermodifications.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section of part of a wall and roof constructed inaccordance with this invention and Fig.9 is asection on the line IX1X inFig. 8, drawn to a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings and first to Figures 1 to 3, l is the outershell formed of comparatively thin sheet metal. 2 is the inner shellformed of similar material and 3 are the metallic supporting stanchions.to which the sheet metal shells are fixed. The outer shell is slightlyspaced from the outer surface of the stanchions 3, being connected withthem only by some holding mem bers 4 arranged one above the other andformed of metal strips or flat iron. The inner shell 2 is connected tothe stanchions 3 with the interposition of comparatively thin spacingmembers 5. As shown more particularly in Fig. 1 a ceiling is connectedto this wall, this ceiling being designed similarly to the wall, beingformed of metallic supporting beams I3 riveted to the supportingstanchions 3, of the floor covering II held down on the beams I3 byclosely adjoining battens, and of the lower boarding I2 which isconnected to the beams l3 by means of transverse members I5. The outershell I is covered on the inner side with a'layer 6 of good heatinsulating properties. The air-filled cavities I of the wall and II ofthe ceiling communicate through apertures 8 and I8, respectively, withthe inner room, so that the air enclosed in this room is free tocirculate also between the inner and outer shells of the wall andceiling.

In a wall such as here described the drawbacks mentioned above areavoided. In view of the heat insulating covering of the outer shell Iand the communication which exists between the wall cavities and theroom I0, the temperature of the air enclosed in these cavities willapproach considerably more the temperature of the room I0, even if greatdifferences exist between the temperatures outside and inside of thebuilding. Furthermore no considerable abduction of heat will occur atthe points where the outer shell I is connected with the stanchions 3,since the connecting members 4 owing to their small cross section andgreat length offer a great resistance to any transmission of heat.Therefore the temperature of the supporting structure 3 and of the innershell 2 will not drop below the dew point of the air in contact withthese parts, so that these parts are protected against the deposition ofmoisture. If necessary, the connecting members 4 mayv also be made ofheat insulating material or be connected with the outer shell and/or thesupporting structure under the interposition of insulating insertions.The outer shell I is free to expand relative to the parts of the wallhaving a higher temperature in view of the elasticity of the longconnecting members 4.

The wall shown in Figs. 4 and is constructed similarly to thatillustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 and similar parts are also marked with thesame ref-' erence numerals. The supporting stanchions 3' as well astheceiling beams I3 are here formed of tubular bodies and in order toequalize as far as possible the temperature of these stanchions andbeams with the temperature of the inner room I0, also the cavities inthese stanchions and beams are made to communicate with the inner roomI0 through channels 9 and apertures I 9, respectively. g

In the wall illustrated in Fig. 6 each supporting stanchion is formed oftwo flanges 25, 26 having an outwardly enlarged channel section,

which are braced by connecting members H.

The sheet metal plates 2|, 22 forming the outer' and inner shells of thewall have the form of individual plates extending only from onestanchion to the adjoining one and being slightly arched inwardly, theirmarginal portions 23, 24 being bent inwardly and extending into thechannels 25, 26 being held in position thereon by means of wedges 23,which are forced into the channels 25, 26 from the outer side. The innerside of the plates 2| forming the outer shell is covered with a heatinsulating covering 29. Besides this strips 30 of heat insulatingmaterials are inserted between the inwardly bent portions 23 oi. the

plates 2I and the inner surfaces of the channels 25. in order to herealso prevent heat withdrawal from the other parts of the wall, when theouter temperature is low. The slight cambering of the wall plates 2I and22 allows them to yield in lighter than in the wall shown in Fig. 6. The

supporting stanchions shown in Fig. 7 are separate pillars of c-sectionmade of strong sheet metal and to these stanchions the channels 34supporting the inner shell are connected directly, while between theouter channels 33 and the stanchions 35 8-shaped connecting members areinserted. These members create a long heat conduction path and thusprevent heat flow from the stanchions 35, at the sametime imparting tothe outer shell an additional elasticity. The outer shell is here alsocovered on the inside with heat insulating material 29.

In the structure illustrated in Fig. 8 a roof supporting structure isfixed to the top end of the supporting stanchions 3 enclosed between theinner and outer shells I and 2, respectively, this supporting structurebeing formed of an pper chord 4|, a lower chord 42 and the panels 43.Similarly to the supporting stanchions 3 these roof girders are coveredwith an outer shell 44 and an inner shell 45, the outer shell beingconnected to the girder by means of connecting members 4B, which spacethe shell considerably from the girder. The inner shell is connected tothe girder by means of thin spacing members 41.

The outer shell 44 is covered on the inside with insulating material 48,so that as far as the thermic conditions are concerned, the roofresembles the wall in all respects. to the wall in such manner thattheir cavities communicate directly with each other. On the other hand,since the top edge of the outer shell I projects into a groove 49 at thebottom of the roof, the zone between the two parts is packed against theentrance of the outer air and against moisture.

According to Fig. 9 the outer shell 44 of the roof may be formed withflat depressions between each two adjoining girders, being thus enabledto give way relative to the inner shell in the case of great differencesof temperature.

' The term "double-walled structure used in the appended claims isintended to include, besides the side walls or a building,'also roofs,ceilings and floorlngs. g

I wish it-to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

' I claim:

1. Double-walled structure comprising an outer shell and an inner shell,both formedof sheet metal and arranged in spaced relation, structuralsupporting members enclosed between said two shells, insulating materialof low heat conductivity covering the innerside of said outer shell butbeing spaced from said inner shell, which is uninsulated, the spacebetween the walls being left free and the outer wall being impermeableto the flow of air, and members connecting said outer shell to saidsupporting members, said connecting members being formed to'ofler a con-The roof is connected;

siderable resistance to a heat iiow by conduction from the supportingmembers to the outer shell, said inner shell being formed withperforations allowing the air adjoining the inner side of said innershell to circulate between said inner and outer shells.

2. Double-walled structure comprising an outer shell and an inner shell,both formed of sheet,

metal and arranged in spaced relation, hollow structural supportingmembers enclosed'between said.two shells, insulating material of lowheat conductivity covering the inner side of said outer shell but beingspaced from said inner shell, which is uninsulated, the space betweenthe walls being left free and the outer wall being impermeable to theflow of air, and' members connecting said outer shell to said supportingmembers. said connecting members being formed to oiTer a considerableresistance to a heat flow by conduction from the supporting members tothe outer shell, said inner shell and said hollow supporting membersbeing formed with perforations allowing the air adjoining the inner sideof said inner shell to circulate between said inner and outer shells andin said hollow supporting members.

3. Double-walled structure comprising an outer shell and an inner shell,both formed of sheet metal and arranged in spaced relation, structuralsupporting members enclosed between said two shells, insulating materialof low heat conductivity covering the inner side of said outer shell,but being spaced from said inner shell, which is uninsulated, the spacebetween the walls being left free and the outer wall being impermeableto the flow of air, and members connecting said outer shell to saidsupporting members, said connecting members being formed to'ofier aconsiderable resistance to a heat flow by conduction from the supportingmembers to the outer shell, said outer shell being slightly archedinwardly so as to be able to yield within the limits of variations oftemperature, relative to said supporting members and to said innershell,

' said inner shell being formed with perforations allowing the airadjoining the inner side 0. said inner shell to circulate between saidinner and outer shells.

4. Double-walled structure comprising an outer shell and an inner shell,both formed of sheet metal and arranged in spaced relation, structuralsupporting members enclosed between said two shells, insulating materialof low heat conductivity covering the inner side of said outer shell,but being spaced from said inner shell, which is uninsulated, the spacebetween the walls being left free and the outer wall being impermeableto the flow of air, and -members connecting said outer shell to saidsupporting members, said connecting members being curved flat ironstrips formed to offer a considerable resistance to a'heat' flow byconduction from the supporting members to the outer shell, andpossessing suflicient elasticity to allow said outer shell freeexpansion, within the limits of variations of temperature relative tosaid supporting members and to said inner shell, said inner shell beingformed with perforations allowing the air adjoining the inner side ofsaid inner shell to circulate between said inner and outer shells.

,5. Double-walled structure comprising an outer shell and an innershell, both formed of sheet metal and arranged in spaced'relation,hollow structural supporting members enclosed between said two shells,insulating material of low heat conductivity covering the inner side ofsaid outer shell, but being spaced from said inner shell, which isuninsulated, the space between the walls being left free and the, outerwall being impermeable to the flow of air, and members connecting saidouter shell to said supporting members, said connecting members beingformed to offer a considerable resistance to a heat flow by conductionfrom the supporting members to the outer shell, said outer shell beingslightly arched inwardly so as to be able to yield within the limits ofvariations of temperature, relative to said supporting members and tosaid inner shell, said inner shell and said hollow supporting membersbeing formed with perforations allowing the air adjoining the inner sideof said inner shell to circulate between said inner and outer shells andin said hollow supporting members.

6. Double-walled structure comprising an outer shell and an inner shell,both formed of sheet metal and arranged in spaced relation, hollowstructural supporting members enclosed between said two shells,insulating material of low heat conductivity covering the inner side ofsaid outer shell, but being spaced from said inner shell, which isuninsulated, the space between the walls being left free and the outerwall being impermeable to the fiowof air, and members connecting saidouter shell to said supporting members, said connecting members beingcurved flat iron strips formed to ofier a considerable resistance to aheat flow by conduction from the supporting members to the outer shell,and possessing sufilcient elasticity to allow said outer shell freeexpansion, within the limits of variations of temperature relative tosaid supporting members and to said inner shell, said inner-shell andsaid hollow supporting members being formed with perforations allowingthe air adjoining the inner side of said inner shell to circulatebetween said'inner and outer shells and in said hollow supportingmembers.

FRANZ GRIEBSCI-I.

